Help! Deciding whether to buy a blem zt 550

erhodes

erhodes

Joined
Jan 30, 2012
Messages
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I saw that kershawguy is having a sale on zt 550's and am trying to decide whether to purchase one or not. He seems to have a really good price but I do not know if I should get a blem or if I should wait and save a little more for a non-blem. Will there be anything structurally wrong with the knife or will it just be cosmetic issues.

If you think I should get one which one should I get? A first gen, second gen, or black?

Please help! Thanks
 
Get whatever you want, we aren't going to carry /use/safe queen it; you are. If you read what a blem actuall is, it refers to a cosmetic issue, not a structural issue. I doubt any company that sells knives would want to sell something that is completely out of specs and end up getting sued for years in court. Do you?
 
He states specifically they are cosmetic only, and from what I've seen even the cosmetic blemishes are almost non-noticible. Do you plan on actually using it or holding it like a collector's item?
My problem is a can't figure out why to spend $150 on a 3-4'' blade folder. If i really need something "tactical" to save my life wouldn't the money be better spent on guns or ammo. I'd like to convince myself I need it, but having a hard time.
 
I didn't think there would be anything seriously wrong with it I just though maybe the scale would be off/not fit properly or maybe there would be something like an off-center blade that rubbed. I doubt there would be something wrong with the blade itself because of the issues you just stated, especially since I am finishing up law school right now and have seen first hand what kind of problems companies can have it they open themselves up for suit.

I do plan on actually using it so I was mainly worried about something like blade rub that would wear of the steel after extended use. Not really looking for teh tactical aspect since I carry a 1911 for that problem, just heard good things about the 550 and wanted to try it out along with my 560.
 
I've bought a few "blems" from kershawguy and honestly I was hard pressed to try and find anything at all that wasn't ok with them. If you are going to use it, I would think that it hardly mattered. Then again if "full" warranty means that much to you then maybe these wouldn't work. The difference in price means you could almost buy 2.
 
Thanks for the response harlycarly, that was exactly the kind of info that I was looking for. The warranty does not concern me all that much since I have never had to actually use on before. Gooeytec makes a good point as well. I think I am going to have to get one. Now I just have to decide whether I want the gen 2 or the black
 
Actually, the blem could be functional rather than cosmetic. At least it was in my case. I bought a Composite Leek that was cosmetically perfect but it had a sticky lockbar. The lockbar didn't stick so badly that I couldn't easily open it one-handed, however. And for what kershawguy charged me for the knife, I'd buy it all over again.
 
I have both gen 1 and 2 and prefer the 2. Mainly for the deep carry clip.

It is more comfortable for me on my bike.. The 550 is simply an awesome knife. For the price point, blem or not it is an awesome folder. I still love my XM 18, but no way is it worth 4-5 times more to me..

The 550 gives my Gayle Bradley a run for it share of pocket time..that's saying something..
 
I've gotten several blems from Kershawguy, and all the ones I got were functionally perfect. One had a cosmetic blemish (discoloration on a CB knife), but the knife itself was fine. The rest, I couldn't figure out the reason for it being marked as a blem. If you're planning on using it, the blems are a great value. If you're looking for a display piece, then save up and get the non-blem one.
 
I've owned several blems, and every time I could hardly find the blem(if I found it at all).
There will be nothing wrong with the knife in terms of usability. If anything there may be a scratch, misprint, etc.
It's unlikely that the blade won't be centered, that it will run, that anything will really be wrong.
What it normally means is there's just a tiny little cosmetic issue and since Kershaw and Knife Buyers can be picky, it didn't get passed.

I would grab the blem, it's not going to hurt anything. ZT's are so well built and deals like this won't be around long. You likely won't have any issues with the knife. And Kershawguy is awesome.

Good luck. =] The ZT 0550 is a fine knife.
 
I bought a JYD II blem from Kershawguy (he's a great guy BTW) earlier this year, and until today I haven't figured out why they marked it as a blem.
Kershaw must have a really tight QC, because I really didn't find anything other than the XXXX marking.
If you are not a collector and want a perfect piece for display, go for the blem
 
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